THE ROLE OF THE HUMAN GUT MICROBIOME IN HEALTH AND DISEASE
Keywords:
Human Gut Microbiome, Gut Microbiota, Dysbiosis, Microbial Metabolites, Inflammation, Probiotics, Fecal Microbiota Transplantation, Personalized MedicineAbstract
The gut microbiome is the complex ecological niche of bacteria, archaea, viruses and fungi and their genetic material in the human gut. It plays a role in the metabolism of nutrients, maturation of the immune system, barrier integrity of the gut, colonization resistance, and communication between the gut and remote organs in the body. While there are very large differences in gut microbial composition from one person to the next, there are also many common functions of the gut microbiome that are conserved. Conditions often linked with alteration of this ecosystem (dysbiosis) include inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, recurrent infection with Clostridioides difficile, and neurological disorders. However, the dependence of most microbiome--disease associations is two ways and any association should not be taken as a cause. Restoration of microbial function is looked at via dietary modification, using probiotics, prebiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation or using defined microbial therapeutics. The main physiological functions of the gut microbiome, its links to disease, existing microbiome-targeted interventions and key obstacles for implementation in personalized care are summarized in this review.
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